Shalu Monastery

CHINA, Tibet, Shigatse

According to monastery records, it was built by Chetsun Sherab Jungnay in 1087. The abbot Khenpo Buton Rinchen Drub expanded the site in 1320 and established the Shalu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The existing buildings and most of the murals originate from this period. The monastery was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1988.
The monastery complex originally consisted of the central hall, four colleges, residence of the reincarnate lamas, and monastic quarters. At present, only the two-story central hall remains. The east-facing central hall has a front courtyard and a circumambulation passage. In the center of the first story of the central hall there is the seven-by-seven bay assembly hall, which is surrounded by shrines and an outer circumambulation passage lined with prayer wheels. The second story consists of four shrines surrounding an open courtyard. These shrines have hip-and-gable roofs.
The central hall is representative of the integrated Chinese-Tibetan architecture commonly found in Tibet. The first story is laid with stone blocks in typical Tibetan structure, and the columns and decorations inside each shrine are also in Tibetan style. The four shrines on the second story have Chinese style hip-and-gable roofs covered with green glazed tiles. These shrines contain corner columns, bracket sets, and embellishments in the style of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). They are important examples of Yuan dynasty palatial style architecture in Tibet.
The subjects of the murals in the monastery are rich and diverse. They are among the earliest and most exuberant in content among the murals of Tibetan monasteries. The monastery also houses a large number of artifacts, of which palm leaf manuscripts and official documents from the Yuan dynasty are among the most important.